Free · self paced
Engaging New Dads in Your Service
Supporting professionals to engage with dads through pregnancy and the early years.
- Chapters
- 5
- Lessons
- 25
Course contents
Chapters and lessons
Work through it in order, or take the chapters that speak to your service.
Chapter 01
Why Are We Here?
Chapter 02
Interactions
- 05
Interacting with Dads
How making small modifications to the ways in which we interact with dads can transform their experiences.
- 06
Acknowledging Dads
Simple ways to make dads feel seen, heard and included.
- 07
Normalising Difficult Feelings
Using your interactions as an opportunity to increase awareness of perinatal mental health and wellbeing.
- 08
Destigmatising Support
Removing barriers to accessing support through your interactions with dads and reframing the idea of ‘needing help’.
- 09
Time to Reflect on... Interactions
VideoChapter summary video and reflections.
Chapter 03
Information
- 10
Information for Dads
What information do dads want to hear and how can you have a positive impact through the information you deliver?
- 11
Accessing Services
How you can enable dads to access the services they need when they need them?
- 12
Being a Supporter
Improving dads’ wellbeing through equipping them to support the baby’s mum or other parent.
- 13
Bonding with Baby
Working with dads to find ways that they can bond with their baby, even before they are born.
- 14
Relationship Changes
Preparing dads for changes in the relationships around them and how to manage these.
- 15
Time to Reflect on... Information
VideoChapter summary video and reflections.
Chapter 04
Places, Spaces & Faces
- 16
Getting Practical
How to design, market and run services that reach and engage dads.
- 17
Places: Reaching Dads
How to reach dads by thinking creatively about marketing and the places you interact with.
- 18
Practicalities: Design for Dads
Considerations for the practicalities of creating dad-inclusive systems and services.
- 19
Points of Contact
How to harness the power of the spaces and faces that dads encounter to improve experiences.
- 20
The One Minute Interaction
VideoA tool for transforming dads’ experiences in less than 60 seconds.
- 21
Service Action Plan
VideoChapter summary video and download and customise your service-specific action plan for making change.
Chapter 05
Taking it Further
- 22
Mainstreaming dads' support
Taking on the challenge of integrating dads’ support into mainstream services.
- 23
Thinking Systems
Taking a step back to think about wider systems and how they impact progress towards our goals.
- 24
Resources for Dads
Resources to support dads across a range of issues.
- 25
Resources for Professionals
Improve your ability to support dads through these resources.
Background
About this course
This course has been developed by Works For All in collaboration with new and expectant dads across Kent and the professionals that work with them. To find out more about the Kent Dads' Project, you can get in touch with startforlife@kent.gov.uk.
What you'll learn
Interactions
How making small modifications to the ways that we interact with new dads can transform their experiences.
Aimed at any professionals, community leaders or others who are coming into contact with new or expectant dads.
How to make dads feel seen and heard through your interactions with them.
How to increase awareness of perinatal mental health and wellbeing.
Ways to remove barriers to accessing support.
Information
Understanding what information dads want to hear and how you can have a positive impact on the wellbeing of them and their families through the information you provide.
Aimed at professionals or community leaders who interact with dads and are looking to maximise the impact of those interactions.
Equipping dads to support the baby's other parent.
Supporting dads to bond with their baby.
Preparing dads for changes in the relationships around them.
Getting Practical
How to design, market and run services that reach, engage and have a positive impact on dads and their families.
Aimed at professionals who work within, manage or commission services that have contact with new dads, who are explicitly looking to design and deliver their services in more father-inclusive ways.
Thinking creatively about marketing.
Creating dad-inclusive systems and services
Harnessing the power of all points of contact with dads to improve their experiences.
Before you start
Common questions
These resources are aimed at anyone who is coming across new or expectant dads. This could be as a professional explicitly working in a perinatal setting, a community leader, a professional working in another type of statutory or community service who comes across new dads, a business engaging with new parents, a manager who works with staff teams that include new dads or someone who is friends with new dads. The reason that we have designed these resources to be so widely used is that we recognise that all dads will have different interactions as they transition into parenthood. We believe that everybody has a role to play in nurturing new parents and families, and that if everyone in society is equipped to do this, we stand a better chance of safeguarding the mental health and wellbeing of new parents, and in doing so protecting both them and their children from harm.
These resources have been designed collaboratively by Works For All, new and expectant dads across Kent and professionals and community leaders in Kent who come into contact with dads.
No! The course is designed to be taken at your own pace and in a way that works for you. You may find that some chapters are more or less relevant to you. We encourage you to be open-minded and think broadly about how you could have an impact on dads, but if you find yourself going through a Lesson or Chapter that really isn't relevant then feel free to skip over it.
Yes, Please do! We encourage you to share these resources with anyone and everyone who might benefit from them.
You can contact us on hi@worksforall.org.